Sunday, May 23, 2010

The white ribbon

Hi
Last night I finally made some real good use of my free night-internet, by downloading 'The white ribbon'. I been taking a lot of interest in festival movies lately
and some good reviews aroused my interest in this one. Plus, its a film noir and a thriller.
Well then I had to watch it.

Its a striking movie. Theres so much to take in, and so much happening, that I am surprised
that some people called it slow. Its not boring at all. Heres the synopsis -

A village in Protestant northern Germany. 1913-1914. On the eve of World War I. The story of the children and teenagers of a choir run by the village schoolteacher, and their families: the baron, the steward, the pastor, the doctor, the midwife, the tenant farmers. Strange accidents occur and gradually take on the character of a punishment ritual. Who is behind it all? The village schoolteacher observes, investigates and little by little discovers the incredible truth. Are we being asked to consider whether these events heralded something that would explode years later with the rise of Nazi Germany? Did these events contain the germs of the tragedies that followed?

K, on with my comments :

Just today morning, in the loo ( where I seem to get my most thoughtful thoughts) I was wondering if the world was really a much safer, better place in the old times. Is the world today a big bad mean place or was it always like this, only in different ways?

Well, when you answer nature's call, God answers you. hee hee.

As I watched this movie, I felt grateful. Grateful that although today we have modern problems like global warming and the kind, people are so much more open-minded than they were before.
There is a scene in the movie where a very strict pastor forbids his son from masturbating , telling him he musnt harm "the finest nerves of his body" by touching areas where "God has
created sacred barriers". Then for some days the boys hands are always tied up at bedtime, to keep him away from "sin". How cruel it is to confuse kids and make them feel guilty like that about natural impulses. Jeeze! At another point in the movie you see the same kid walking
perilously over a narrow handbar of a high bridge. When caught and asked why, he replies "to give God a chance to kill me".

Such and many more disturbing things happen in "The White Ribbon". The black n white tone greatly enhances the sombre, ominous feel and adds to the grim blandness of the old-world protestant aunties with their hair tightly tied in buns. (What could be the mentality of the men who made their women dress like that! No ribbons, no bows, no frilly stuff. Huh?)

Its a good watch, but the only thing is that its open ended. You can only guess who
the culprit was, as nothing is really revealed. Did I mention that "The White Ribbon"
won the "Palm d'or" at Cannes?

La francaiseee!!


Since I started learning french, I have gotten into the habit of enjoying french TV, french comics, websites and ofcourse french movies. Its so cool that learning a new language opens up a whole
new world of art and literature for you, that you previously could'nt understand.

On my first visit to the alliance francaise library, I discovered a genre of comics that I had only heard of. Lolo et Sucette is a series of funny and sex-y 'Bandes dessinées' that showcase
the lives of two saucy hookers and the fun they have 'on the job' :) It was refreshing to read something that talks about sex, hookers and streetlife, in a light-wicked-wacky way 'nd without any sense of pointless taboo, plus the jokes and illustrations are really funny. Plus I learnt so many new words. Guess what "preservatif" means. hehe.

I am gonna look for other volumes of the series.

Next task in line is to look for some interesting "Bande-animes".

More on this in d next post